Business Lessons from Year 2019 and preparations for the New Year 2020

We have just couple of days left in the year 2019. But it appears that we welcomed new year 2019, just a few weeks back !! Time, indeed, flies very fast..

So, how was this year ?

Yes, there were some great strides made in certain areas by me. I would call the crowning moment was, launching of my dream book, “A Ride on the Road to Excellence”, a motorbike adventure book but also gives the readers tips about Management and Personal Excellence through a wonderful ride through mother nature. This book turned out to be International best seller on the day of the launch itself and earned me very good friends. My youngest fan being a school student, who is barely 9 years old, though the book was meant for Business Executives !!

On business front, Straightegic Solutions Pvt Ltd, touched life of new customers, big and small. Personally, received many invitations from Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs and other institutions and colleges to give talk and for Consulting / Training sessions. MSME Development Institute is using my experience and services for spreading knowledge to Industries about Lean tools and ZED certifications. This journey with MSME has taken me to many cities in India and  the journey was worthwhile since I had opportunity to meet very supportive MSME officials and hundreds of businessmen who were eager to learn and implement Lean and ZED.

But life is not just about taking but also about giving, isn’t ? I am happy that part of proceeding from book sales is going towards supplying protein supplement to needy poor children through an NGO. Through my Lions Club, Champions, I participate, with other Lions, as we contribute in whatever possible way to the needy sections of society.

But can I list down some of the wonderful lessons and success factors which I can take into New Year 2020 ? I list down following top few learning as my take away from this year :

1.  Networking with other Business leaders : This indeed, is one of the biggest success factor for any Business man / Organization. I learnt and now believe very strongly, it pays rich dividends to collaborate amongst Businessmen. 1 +1 is not equal to 2. It is much more than 2 !! Business can grow exponentially when you collaborate. So everyday meet a new person, explore possibilities of working together in some way. As a Customer, Supplier, Peer, Critic or just as a friend!

2.  Manage time well : Never waste even single minute of 1440 minutes gifted to you by Almighty every day. Ration your time based on VED analysis of your activities. Do more with less time. Focus. Avoid diversion.

3.  Goal setting : It is time to put in writing, what we want to achieve in 2020. Let them be SMART goals. Split those goals into monthly goals, weekly goals. Decide on what actions need to be taken to reach those goals. Just writing down goals, is just writing down wishful thoughts. Goals without action plan is like a quiver without arrows !

4.  Change : There is change everywhere and it is changing at breakneck speed. Changes are inevitable, so accept them and look for opportunities in changes. Change could be in Technology, Culture, Political scenario, How business is run, Global Business environment, Buyer’s taste etc. But I noticed that if you are not agitated and think calmly, you will see opportunities in those changes. Even more better, if possible, you be the change maker

5.  New Technology : Ignore Industry 4.0, AI, Robotics, Big (small) data, IoT etc at your own peril. Whether we like it or not, whether we accept it or not, they are already in our door step. They are already touching all of us in one way or other. Irrespective of size of your organization, time to explore how you can make use of above, to take our business to next level. Your competitors are already doing it!!

6.  Don’t be happy with Status Quo : Personally I have seen many organizations, shutting shop just due to the attitude of being happy with where they are. You may be doing very well today, but will it continue forever ? Is there no scope for improvement or innovation in your Business, Process or People ? You bet, there are !!

7.  Benchmark : I always ask this question in my consulting projects. What makes your customer to buy from you ? Why not from your competitor ? What will make him to continue to buy only from you ? Is it only because of Price ? No. Think deeply. Create Bench mark in your industry with your product, innovation, process, delivery, price, customer experience etc. And don’t be happy with bench marking with your neighbor!! Let it be global bench marking because the competition is global

8.  How do you treat your Janitor ? : People ARE the real assets in an organization. Customer don’t buy from an Organization, he buys through a person. Same way, people do not leave an organization, they leave because of a leader, mostly. Are you still old fashioned, loud and foul mouthed leader ? And proud about it too ?! Then now is the time to change. We are in a period where supervision cannot get the job done. But motivation, inclusion, participation, energizing of your team, can get the job 10X times better and faster. Every employee need to be treated with respect, whether he is your GM or junior most employee. By the way, I start my audit of any organization from rest room, so how to your treat your janitor ?!!

9.  Diversify : There is a very old saying, “Do not keep all eggs in one basket”. It holds good even now. Have a bouquet of products or services in different segments. Yes, completely focusing in one product or product line has given results. (Remember Henry Ford's, "You can have any color you want, so long it is black"!!) But with changing times, it is always suggested, to look for products or services which may not be directly in your present line of products or services. Make your business recession-proof.

10.  Focus on Excellence : Look at ways and means of being 0.1% better than yesterday, everyday. Build an attitude of striving for excellence into your Business / Process and of course in, People. As a jury in CII competitions, I am always amazed at certain companies trying to knock of a couple seconds from their throughput time, to reach Excellence ! Can your process adopt Global best practices (Kaizen, TPM, Lean, Visual organization, 5s, TEI, Poka yoke etc) and become more predictable and profitable ? Can each one of your employees transform into a leader in his own area of work ?

I thought of sharing a few points, which are going to be areas of focus in any business in near future, whether IT, Manufacturing or Service sectors. I am sure there are many more points, but tried to list down top points, in my opinion.

Yes, there are challenges during downturn or recession. But do not stop journey of excellence. As Jack Ma says, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse. But on the day after tomorrow, will be sunshine”. So be ready when Sun shines...

Wish you all, a Healthy, Happy, Prosperous New Year 2020 !!!!